


Behind The Mask

by AngelTheForbidden (AngiLovesGaia)



Category: Marble Hornets, Slender Man Mythos
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:44:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2277165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngiLovesGaia/pseuds/AngelTheForbidden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex attempts murder. <br/>Masky saves a life. <br/>Tim has to live with the consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Theories And Heroes

It was no surprise that Sarah wanted me to come along to a party. She dragged me out every chance she got. She was your typical, run-of-the-mill party girl, and my only friend by way of being my roomie. So, I didn’t really have much other choice than to go or stay in the dorms again. Honestly, I wanted to stay home, but I didn’t have any excuses such as studying or homework; Sarah already knew my work was finished. But she had mentioned Alex Kralie, my current “boss” of sorts, was going to be there. I’d met him through Sarah, as she introduced me as a cure-all for his technical difficulties in the directing of his movie that Sarah was costarring in. Kralie was delighted to have me at first, and the production of Marble Hornets was going okay.

Like I said, he was only happy _at_ _first_. Something had happened somewhere down the line of filming, and the quality of the raw footage got worse and worse. There were visual tears and distortion in the audio, which made my job as editor at lot hard, but there was also footage I _probably_ wasn’t supposed to see. Kralie had sent all the footage to my dorm to touch up, so I didn’t interact with guy that much, but the strange footage had been sent along with all the other tapes around the time Sarah started complaining that Alex was being a prick, and shortly after that, Sarah came in bawling that her best friend Amy, who was also Alex’s girlfriend, had gone missing. The tapes barely had any movie-relevant content; Kralie had been taping himself nonstop.

I saw him shop, sleep, and run through parks in the middle of the night. It was the most bizarre behavior I’d ever seen, and was really starting to creep me out. Some of these tapes didn’t have any audio or the visual was terribly fuzzy or distorted. Until, two nights ago, I watched Alex creep through his own house, a man outside his window. By what I could see, he was tall and in a suit, possibly bald, but I couldn’t make out his face. He was freaking eerie as all get out. It made me wonder what kind of crap Kralie had got himself into. Maybe he’s on drugs, I thought, and that’s why he’s been acting weird and that man was his dealer telling him to pay up. Any which way, I couldn't just do nothing about it.

Sarah barged into my room, interrupting my train of thought. She glanced at my pajamas and sighed. “Seriously, Juni, are you ever going to get dressed? We have to leave soon, Alex is waiting for us. And turn that stupid camera off.”

 

Tim had trailed Alex to a frat party in full swing at the edge of the woods. There was a bonfire, blaring music, and a cooler full of booze in the back of someone’s truck. Students were grinding and thrusting to the music, drinks in hand, unaware that someone very dangerous was among them. Tim watched Kralie carefully from the fringe of the crowd as he approached two girls. One, in a pale pink minidress and strappy silver heels, he recognized as Sarah, an actress from the original Marble Hornets’ cast. Jay and Tim had both thought she must have been taken, but then again, she might have just changed schools.

The second girl, wielding a video camera like a shield, he had never seen before. She had a messy fluff of brightly dyed red hair, brilliant blue eyes, and pale skin wrapped around thin, pixie-like features. She wasn’t all gussied up like the rest of the girls at the party, either. She wore dark jeans that looked comfortable and showed off her slim legs, a plain black shirt with a V-neckline, old combat boots, and a black hooded jacket. She would have been invisible if the fire hadn’t illuminated her white face. She seemed to be aware that Alex wasn’t like the rest of the college kids there, but she may or may not have been aware of the danger he presented. She was hesitant to accept Alex’s full attention when Sarah left to grind on some frat boy, but seemed to be saying something Alex didn’t like, if the way he narrowed his eyes was any clue.

  
Tim decided to slink closer to eavesdrop. They were talking about tapes; apparently Marble Hornets was still on and this girl was his new film editor. She was complaining about something, and she wasn’t being subtle about it.

“Seriously, what’s going on? First, I get these weird tapes, with no raw footage for the film, but your daily routine and you doing some pretty freaky things, not to mention the tapes of you and Amy doing it. I could deal with the freakiness, because, I’ll be honest, it’s probably not the worst thing I’ve seen, but then you start treating the cast like crap? And then this man-suit-thing is at your house right before Amy disappeared? Are you in over your head with some drug cartel or something? Did they take Amy hostage or something so you would pay them back? Whatever it is, I don't care. I want to help, it's my job. Whatever it takes to finish the film.”

Her voice was a venomous whisper, but it still sounded beautiful to Tim’s ears. She was off, but not as off as most people would be. She knew enough for Alex to decide to dispose of her. There was a twist in Tim’s gut as the possibility of her death became a realization. Normally, he’d take this as a chance to follow the girl home, and try to catch Kralie, but he couldn’t stand the fact of arriving too late to save her. Besides, he may not even let her leave. Tim shuddered as he thought about Jessica in that moment, and how she had disappeared.

“I’m sorry, Juni. I didn’t know how else to tell you. As for the sex tapes, I didn’t mean for you to see those,” Alex whispered, stepping closer to the redhead. “I hoped you could help me, you’re really smart, and you seem like a nice girl.” He paused and looked around. “I don’t want to talk here, can we walk for a bit?”

Tim could tell she hadn’t really taken the bait, but it didn’t matter to Alex if she had or not, even though he believed she did. She had decided to play along, which might have been the worst thing she could have done. She gave him an odd look and nodded. “Sure, I guess.”

Tim tried to follow them through the crowd, but lost them in the sea of bodies. His stomach lurched as he looked through the faces around him, realizing Alex had led the girl straight into the woods already.

She’d only have minutes.

 

“So, what’s the deal? Where’s Amy?” I asked him, trying not to sound nervous as the woods got thicker and the light from the party got dimmer. I flipped my camera to night-vision. I could see Kralie’s face now. He was looking straight ahead, his eyes fixed on something in the distance, as if he had a destination.

“She’s dead, Juni. That man you saw in the tapes killed her,” he said, too bluntly. It was as if he never cared for her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I apologized, more for the sake of playing the part than anything. I figured she was dead, and had already prepared myself for the confirmation. I felt my stomach flip with unease as I realized I couldn’t hear the party anymore. I swallowed. “What can I do to help? Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well, there’s this place. We’re actually pretty close. I have a friend I’d like you to meet. I think if you both work together, you could help me a lot,” he said. I saw a sly smirk on the night-vision.

“If you think it will help,” I said, my hands shaking with fear. If I could just keep him talking, my camera’s backup SD card would serve as evidence in case anything happened to me and the tape. I was certain he took me out here to kill me.

“We’re here,” he said after a moment of walking in silence.

Flipping on my camera’s flashlight, I saw a small abandoned building. It was red brick, with a nearly shingle-less roof and all but one window broken out. A circle with an X through it had been etched into the wood of the broken door, which simply hung by the hinges more for decoration than function now. I severely doubted anyone was inside. I hesitated after Kralie stopped walking. I prayed whatever demise he had in mind for me, it was quick, and hopefully painless.

“Go on in, I’ve got to call my friend,” he coaxed.

I didn’t know how to refuse so I walked in. It was almost completely dark and my camera started to fritz out. It suddenly became colder, and I felt dizzy. I heard footsteps crunch behind me, getting closer.

And then something cracked against the back of my skull.

The blow may or may not have knocked me unconscious temporarily, but when I opened my eyes, I was inside, on my stomach. The floor was filthy cement, and the light of my camera shone from the corner across the floor. My head throbbed, but I don’t think I was bleeding. I tried to push myself up, but was weakened by a coughing fit.

A hard kick to my side flipped me onto my back. I saw Kralie’s outline hovering above me. His sneaker pressed against my throat, cutting off my lungs’ air supply. I tried to shove it off, but it was pointless to try when I seemingly had the upperbody strength of a noodle. Had he drugged me, and if so, how? I hadn’t ingested anything or even touched the guy.

“Please,” I begged hopelessly.

He pressed down harder, making me see dark spots. I saw his teeth gleam in the light from my camera, a sickening sneer on his face. He was enjoying this, and he had probably enjoyed whatever he did to poor Amy. A new surge of panic rushed through me at the thought that he might kill again.

“Please, beg some more, it makes it that much sweeter,” Kralie growled. He yelled at the top of his lungs, “Even if you scream, no one can help you!”

A figure crashed through the window.

 

Masky had caught up to Alex, hearing his boastful shouts over the editor girl. He smashed through the barely intact window and tackled him to the ground just in time. They tumbled to the floor, and both of them received cuts from the broken glass. He grappled with Alex, who eventually grabbed a board from the debris littered floor and knocked him off with it. As Masky tried to regain his bearings, Alex crawled to his feet before stalking over to the limp body of the redhead. He raised his weapon, but Masky rushed to take the blow.

Alex was furious to see he hadn’t hit his intended target. Masky’s body covered the girl’s completely as he shielded her from blow after blow. His back stung from each hit due to the little protection his hunting coat provided, but he wouldn’t move until she was safe. He tried to find anything to focus on except the pain, and was surprised to hear screaming. It was her, she was awake.

“Stop! Please, stop!” she cried. Her hands were clutching the front of his jacket, shaky with raw fear. She shrieked into his chest as the strikes continued. Masky’s ears began to ring loudly. All he could see was her lips parting in screams he couldn’t hear and her eyes shut tightly, waiting for death.

The beating slowed as the ringing subsided. After awhile, they stopped. Masky’s breath was coming in shallow bursts and the girl, Juni, he finally remembered, was panting raggedly. He saw her ice blue eyes open hesitantly and look up.

“He’s gone,” she said, sighing in relief even though she looked confused.

Masky got up abruptly, heading to the corner to grab her camera. He picked it up and marveled momentarily at the fact that it miraculously still looked shiny and new, and was probably very high-tech and expensive. He returned to where Juni was struggling to get back on her feet, and steadied her as he returned her camera. She pointed the flashlight at him and stumbled back as he squinted.

 

Could this night take a stranger turn? The man who had saved me was in a tan hunting jacket and a mask. The mask was white, with feminine black lips and dark rings around the eyes with questioning brows. He had dark curly hair and thick sideburns, too. He stood half a foot taller than me, and was built like a wrestler. He didn’t even seem to be troubled at all by the beating he just received at the hands of Alex Kralie. He did squint and shrink away from my camera’s flashlight, however.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

No answer.

“Look, I’ve had a really weird night that still could end in me dying when I go home. You better tell me your god damn name, or I swear I will grab a stick and beat you myself,” I threatened. It’s not that I was trying to be mean, I was just having a really bad night.

He pointed to his mask.

I gave him a confused look, “Your mask. What about it?”

He kept pointing at it.

I reached for it and he backed off.

“Fine, whatever, don’t talk. I’ll just go home,” I huffed and turned to walk away.

I was stopped by him grabbing my arm and yanking me backwards. He covered my mouth as I gasped. It wasn’t like he was trying to keep me from screaming for help, but more like he was trying to save our skins by keeping me quiet. I stayed very still, listening. I heard footsteps. And then Kralie’s voice, I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but he was obviously swearing. My heart pounded in my chest and my ribs screamed with a tense strain.

His voice wasn’t getting any closer, but the footsteps were. A rock skittered across the floor as a silhouette darkened the doorway.

And then everything went black.


	2. Recounting Pills

Tim woke with a headache in a new room. Judging from the bare design, it was a hotel room. As he started to shift, he realized he wasn’t alone. Snuggling into his chest, was Juni, fast asleep and smiling slightly in her dreams. He remembered saving her, her cursing at him, hearing Alex, and her fainting, but nothing after that. Usually, he didn’t remember anything at all when his alter-ego, whom the viewers of Jay’s YouTube channel were calling Masky, took over. Grabbing his phone, he checked the date. Three days since Alex tried to beat them to death. There were two missed calls from Jay and nearly 20 texts from him as well.

Scooting out from underneath Juni’s thin form, he stood up and walked to what he assumed to be the bathroom to relieve himself. As he walked by the room’s large mirror, he realized he was only in his boxers and was still wearing his alter-ego’ mask. Looking back at the sleeping beauty tangled in the sheets, he saw the sleeves of his favorite red lumberjack shirt and bare legs. Swallowing, he hurried into the bathroom.

After finishing his business, he took off the silly mask and dialed up Jay. He picked up on the second ring. “Dude, where are you? Do you ever check your phone? I thought that thing got you!”

That “thing” was the Operator, the being who haunted them with every moment they still breathed. Tim breathed a sigh of relief that Jay was fine before replying. “I blacked out again, after trailing Alex to some college party, but I can remember bits and pieces this time.”

“What happened? Where’s Alex? Why can you remember? Do you think it’s the pills?” Jay fired off.

Tim relayed the events of three nights ago: following Alex, witnessing Sarah’s still living, seeing him take the suspicious girl through the crowd, losing him in the swell of faces, then as he was racing through the woods, his alter-ego took over, tracking Alex down a lot faster than Tim ever could, and saving Juni from a terrible death via Alex’s foot. Tim explain how his alter-ego took quite the beating from Alex for Juni, the ringing in his ears, how Kralie seemed to vanish, the way Juni wasn’t afraid of his alter-ego, and how she fainted when another unidentified figure appeared.

“So, where are you now?” Jay asked.

“We’re in a hotel room, the same one you woke up in when you met Jessica,” he said.

Jay processed for a moment, “Wait, you’re both in the _same _hotel room? Are you a thing now?”__

__“I have no idea. I woke up in bed with her--”_ _

__“You _slept _together?”___ _

____“Let me finish. I woke up in bed with her, but I still had the mask on. She’s wearing my shirt, but I don’t see the rest of our clothes,” Tim explained._ _ _ _

____“So, you’re naked. You whore,” Jay teased, trying to lighten the situation._ _ _ _

___“I have my boxers, and it doesn’t _feel _  
like we did anything. Besides, she looks like a high school kid,” he sighed in exasperation. Jay was usually so serious, but why of all times, did he choose To have a goofy streak?___ _ _

______“Well, check in the bathroom. It says on the news website here that Rosswood and the surrounding area got some pretty heavy storms last night. Maybe you got caught in one. I’m not too far away, it’s only like a ten minutes drive. We’ll check ToTheArk’s channel to see if they uploaded anything that will help,” he said, and Tim heard the sound of a car door. “But she could just be a lousy screw.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_____Tim pulled back the shower curtains, and sent silent prayers to whomever was listening. He had found their clothes and was not a cradle-robber. He dug through the damp pile, finding his undershirt, socks, jacket, and jeans, while discovering her jacket, shirt, socks, jeans, and bra. So, they _hadn’t _done anything, he reassured himself again as he heard the covers shift in the other room.___ _ _ _ _

________“You were right, we got caught in a storm,” he told Jay as he heard an engine fire up. He hide the mask in the bag that sat on the counter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I’ll be there in five.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________I crept quietly to the bathroom door, having listened to the tail end of the phone call. I had no idea where I was I was or how I got there. The last thing I remember was a white face with black lips, the man who had rescued me from Alex Kralie. Everything was fuzzy and there was a sore spot on the back of my head, accompanied by a dull headache._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______I’d woken up in a two-queens hotel room, and the bed space beside me was warm from a large body. The other queen-sized bed looked as if it had been slept in, and then made in a hurry. The outside door was slightly cracked. And, worst of all, I was in someone else’s shirt with nothing but my panties. Although I wasn’t sore _down there, _I was still petrified at the thought that someone might’ve seen me naked, which, compared to the fact that I’d nearly been murdered, was pretty freaking stupid.___ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________I waited a few minutes, hearing the rustle of clothes and the unmistakable sound of a zipper. There was a cough, which erupted into a fit. The sound of pills rattling out of a bottle, water running, and the sigh someone made after they drank in a commercial. I took another step and paused for another minute. It was silent in the bathroom, save for the sound of the guy’s breathing. I heard my heart pound in my chest. Just what exactly was I expecting? Alex Kralie? My pale faced rescuer?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The outside door swung open and a tall, lanky guy stepped in. I jumped in surprise and screamed, stumbling away from him as I landed unsteadily. The bathroom door opened and out stepped a man, dressed in a white undershirt and jeans, his socks making no noise on the carpet. He had familiar dark curls and thick sideburns, but I couldn’t place them. I backed up even more, tripping over the bed corner and fell to the floor, landing on my butt. Who the hell were these guys?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Hey, Juni, it’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you,” the dark haired boy said, holding out his arm to block the other guy from getting closer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Who are you?” I demanded, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu. “How do you know my name? How did I get here?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He took a few steps closer and crouched down to my level. “My name is Tim, and this is Jay. Trust me, I’m just as confused as you are when it comes to how we woke up here. We met at the party, three days ago, and that’s how I know your name.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Three days ago? No, the party was _last night _,” I exclaimed. Had it really been three whole days? Why couldn’t I remember any of it?___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“See, that’s what I remember, too, but look,” he said, showing me the date on his phone. He was right. It was three days later._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“What’s going on?” I whispered. There was no way this was happening to me. I was a good person, and I had a great life ahead of me. I was going to graduate and become a camera girl for paranormal documentaries. I was going to be like the next Ghost Hunters International. Now, I was either on the run, kidnapped, or delusional._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Alex tried to kill you, do you remember that?” he asked, and I nodded meekly, looking into his chocolate colored eyes. “Well, he’s not going to give up. You know too much, and you’re dangerous in his mind.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I know too much?” I asked in disbelief; I didn’t know anything!_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Tim looked to his friend, who now sat on the bed with a laptop. “You were his editor, right? Saw all the tapes?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Yeah, I was working with him on _Marble Hornets, _and then I started getting less and less of the movie, but more and more of his life,” I recalled.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Well, before he attended your school, he was my roommate at mine. One day he came to me, and said he was just going to burn all the tapes to the original Marble Hornets. So, I stopped him and took the tapes off his hands. I found some pretty strange things, as well,” he began._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Jay explained how he was worried for Alex at first, and how the deeper he dug, the more dangerous things became. He told me about a YouTube account called ToTheArk and another under the film’s name. He told me about the cryptic messages, the Operator (the “man” I’d seen in the tapes), and how Amy disappeared. Alex was at the center of all of it. He told me about Jessica, how they met, and how a masked figure left her to the Operator. There were two mysterious masked figures who kept following them, and they didn’t know why they were trying to kill Alex or if they were working for the Operator. My stomach dropped as I remember the strange face of the one who saved me, and I broke into a nervous coughing fit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Are you okay?” Tim asked, resting a hand on my shoulder. His face was hard and masculine, but his eyes were soft and warm. I was sitting on the bed opposite of the boys, and a sheet was wrapped around my shoulders._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“I’m f-fine. Just c-c-cold,” I stuttered, pulling the blanket around me tighter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“You’re clothes are drying in the bathroom. You two must’ve been caught in quite the storm last night,” Jay said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________My blood ran cold. “Us two?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Yeah, two,” he said, looking confused. “Why?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“There were three of us in here last night,” I said carefully. “Tim and I in one bed, someone else in the other. I thought _you _  
were the third person.”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“No, but how do you know there were three?” Tim asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“When I woke up, the other side of the bed was warm, so I knew someone had shared the bed with me. However, the other bed was made as if someone had tried to save the housekeeper some work, but left in a hurry,” I explained. I stood, motioned for them to get up, and pulled back the comforter. Between the sheets was a little tuft of yellow pocket lint. I picked it up. “Neither of us were wearing yellow.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Jay’s eyes hardened and I felt my stomach sink. So, there was more to the three days than running from Alex. I hurried into the bathroom, grabbing my backpack from where it sat by the TV, and locked the door. Jay’s voice called after me as another coughing fit wracked my body, “Juni, are you okay?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________I bent over the toilet and puked. Wiping my mouth with the back of my shaking hand, I slumped against the counter, gathering my clothing. I dressed and sat on the floor, thankful my clothes were, for the most part, dry. I opened my camera’s screen and scrolled through the videos until I found the night Alex tried to kill me. There were no videos after that point._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Despite the amazing quality and durability of my camera, the video was sketchy at best. Everything was perfectly normal until Alex attacked me from behind. Tears streamed down my face as I watched the camera spin across the floor before stopping to catch everything. Alex tossed the board he had wielded away, breathing heavily even though it probably hadn’t taken much effort to hit me. He looked completely wild, ravenous ever. The evil glare he shot me when I tried to get up seemed to scare the camera into glitching as purple and green static flashed across the screen and my cough distorted wildly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________I bit my lip as I relived it, knowing what was to come. I watched Alex try to stomp the life out of me. I began to sob as the window shattered and the video began to tear. It was hard to make out anything, but I couldn’t pull my eyes from the screen. It was awful, the blows, the screams, and the terrible ring that had distorted the attack’s audio, growing louder and louder. The screen switched to silent snowy static for a moment. The audio came out crystal clear. “He’s gone.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________The video snapped back into focus and I saw my hero and I panting on the floor. And then he picked himself up, walking to the camera before stooping to pick it up. And then I saw his blurry face, white with big black eyes and lips. My heart skipped a beat and I gasped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________It was a man in a mask._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Tim listened at the bathroom door. He heard the replay of the night they were nearly killed, but this time, the screams and crack of wood against the human body was accompanied by a soft sobbing. He leaned back against the door, turning his face to the ceiling as he closed his eyes. Then she gasped, and he heard her frantically scrambling to her feet. He barely had time to get out of the way before she burst out of the bathroom, camera in hand and fully dressed. She pointed to the image on the camera’s viewfinder. Masky._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“This is one of the guys right?” she asked, and took the recognition that must have been on their faces as confirmation. “He saved my life, but not once did he try to kill Alex. He took a beating for me. There’s something you guys are missing.”________________

________________  
_Or not just telling you, _Tim thought. He wasn’t about to freak her out with an alter-ego in a mask that could come out at any given time. He coughed violently at the thought. What if he decided Juni wasn’t worth protecting and let her die? Or worse, kill her himself?___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Your sharp mind is probably the reason Alex hired you,” Jay said, probably meaning it as a compliment._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“And tried to kill me,” Juni said, giving herself a shake. She looked like she’d been through a war. Her clothes were caked in mud with leaves and grass stunk in bunches, and her hair was rumpled with dirt streaks mucking up the vibrant red. Her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. “Ah, _hell. _Sarah’s gonna kill me!”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Sarah?” Jay was confused._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Juni laughed, a tinkling little laugh that made Tim’s heart lift. “Sarah said if I ever disappeared and made her worry, she’d claw me to death.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Wait, you know Sarah?” Jay asked as Juni went into another round of coughing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She nodded weakly. “Roommate.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Jay looked at Tim, a look of dread on his face. Tim looked quickly asked another question before she could fall into a fit again, “How long have you been sick?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Since Alex started sending me the tapes, a couple weeks ago. I think I caught whatever bug he had when I was handling the tapes,” she wheezed. “Why?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Jay disappeared into the bathroom to grab the pill bottle, and set his hand held on the nightstand. He’d been recording, which irritated Tim somewhat. Juni was going through a lot, and in such a short time period. Was Jay just going to film and exploit her to the internet, too?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Tim had to catch Juni during the next wave, holding her up from falling. Her nails dug into his bare skin as she coughed violently into his chest. He held her for a few moments afterwards, as she shook in his arms. She’d obviously never received treatment for the Sickness that seemed to take hold of anyone too close to the Operator situation. Tim tried to imagine what him and Jay would be like without their pills, now that they had been involved in this crap so long. He stroked her hair, hushing her, “It’s gonna be okay. It’s all gonna be okay.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________It was a lie. No one knew what to expect, especially in this mess that she had been dragged into. And to top it off, she was going to be seen in the dark, remote part of the internet, full of strange wackos and loons, just because she’d met them. Then again, had his alter-ego not saved her, she would have never met them. He couldn’t decide which might be worse._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Jay returned with two pills and a glass of water. Tim sat Juni in his lap, his arm around her for support. She was coughing so hard, Tim feared she’d break. They had to hold her mouth open and force the pills down her throat by pinching her nose closed as water spilled into her mouth. She struggled, of course, not knowing what the drug was probably freaked her out and the fact that they were forcing her to sit still didn’t help._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She tried to cough them up, stuffing her fingers down her throat, which Tim had to pin her to get her to stop. He explained (for the most part) what the Sickness was, what the pills were, and how they helped with the symptoms. She was still crazily confused, but understood enough to relax a little. She listened as Jay explained his own Sickness experience, and they tried to piece together why she had advanced through the stages so quickly. Was it because she was a girl? The Operator was more focused on her? Genetic properties? The possibilities were endless._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________She didn’t say much, and they didn’t push her. She always seemed like she was thinking really hard, connecting the dots that they hadn’t even found yet, leaving them far behind. Tim couldn’t help but feel responsible for dragging her into a mess. Was it better to die or live a life on the run?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
